October 27: Manu's Bodega

Sigh

Sitting at my desk around noon today, I'm considering where to go for lunch. As the 89 other posts on this site attest to, there's a lot of choices, but nothing sounds appetizing. Dinner last night was Italian, we're likely to order pizza and watch Stranger Things tonight, I think I'm still digesting the Pick-Quick burger from earlier this week, and walking to Pike Place for fish and chips doesn't seem worth it. Maybe a sandwich from Tat's? No, just not that hungry. And really, just not that motivated.

From out of nowhere, I get an empanada craving. I think I've only ever had empanadas twice before: once was two years ago, a bake-it-yourself version I bought from Pampeana at a farmers market, surprisingly now showing up on several lists of best local empanadas. Before that, my first empanada was in Ellensburg, at the now-closed "Earthquake Empanadas", to eat with a fresh hefeweizen at the Iron Horse Pub next door. What I'm saying, I guess, is that I don't know what makes a good empanada, but I'm willing to find out. If you know empanadas, sorry for my ignorance.

The general consensus of the best empanadas near Pioneer Square is Manu's Bodega, a Dominican-focused place run by the same Manu Alfau who runs the Manu's Tacos window inside/next to Flatstick Pub. His Bodega is uphill a short walk, a block past the homeless folks gathered across from the Smith Tower. It's slightly below grade, in a wedge-shaped space in a wedge-shaped building on a wedge-shaped block. I placed my order at the counter and took the last of the five indoor tables. Several more tables on the patio were occupied.

I ordered the empanada plate, a tiny bit disappointed that a pork version wasn't available. Instead, for my two empanadas, I chose a beef one and a yam/gouda one. It arrived quickly, and my first impression frightened me: it was pretty, but the plate was ice cold. I dug into the rice and beans, and my fears dissipated.

The rice was hot, the pinto beans were warm. The menu says they use jasmine rice, and they've done it in a way where it's neither too dry nor too sticky. Well done. The pinto beans were OK, really not too notable. Good filler.

The empanadas looked identical, perfect half moons with crimped edges so I bit into the first one, not knowing which was which. It was the beef. I probably scarfed it down too quickly to notice, but the menu says it also contained olives, raisins, and hard boiled egg. I noticed something yellow, but by the time I thought to figure it out, I'd eaten it. Onto the yam!

I liked and savored that one much more. It was more flavorful, had a more pleasing texture, and just tasted better. Your mileage may vary.

I left the slaw and most of the chimichurri sauce; just not my thing. On the walk back to the office, a disabled woman next to me at the 2nd & Yesler crosswalk pointed and screamed profanities at demons only she could see and that I couldn't even imagine

Sigh.

Manu's Bodega
100 Prefontaine Place
Empanada plate, Coke, $15.69

October 24: Pick-Quick Drive In

Sorry, no photos today. I thought I'd already reviewed it when I ate at the Pick-Quick last spring, and there's not a lot to say. I'm two weeks in to my four-week Uber pass (free Pool rides to and from Sodo), so figured I'd grab a quick bite here. It's across the street from the quirky, expectation-exceeding Oriental Express.

I'd eaten at the Fife location several times when our office was in Federal Way, and it's a good, cheap, midrange quality burger. Today I had the single cheeseburger with bacon. No complaints. In-n-Out quality, but the bun was a bit fluffier than I'd come to expect. A greasy burger should have a thin cheap bun, but not this time. It looked photogenic, a perfect, rounded, glistening bun, but I ate it instead of taking a selfie with it. The bacon was chewy, not crisp, which is a small strike against it, but it's bacon, so how bad could it be?

Fries were the standard drive-in peel on shoestrings, floppy and a little oily, but good nonetheless. The milkshakes, though -- that's why I come here. The guy behind the counter handed me my blackberry shake and commented, "this is a good one, my favorite. This one's extra good." It was.

There's no seating (it's a DRIVE in, right?) so I leaned up against a post while I ate. In wet weather, that'd be a deal breaker, but on a crisp fall day, not so bad.

Pick-Quick Drive In
2990 4th Ave. S.
Single cheeseburger with bacon, fries, medium shake, $12.12

October 10: Paseo SoDo

I don't know how to eat a sandwich.

Yesterday, I ate at Delicatus again. The "Chief Stealth Bomber" is a French dip variant. Most of the contents of the sandwich ended up on my plate, and I had to tackle it with a fork.

Today, Paseo Sodo was my destination of choice. I ordered the Caribbean Roast, a variant on a pulled-pork Cuban sandwich. Tasty as heck, but again, my tools for consumption included a fork and about a dozen napkins. Before I even took the first bite, as I squeezed it together to fit in my mouth, the baguette came apart in the back, dumping pork, jalapenos, and onion onto my plate.

I'd briefly mentioned Paseo in my May 23 report. I'd considered having lunch there, but the walk was too far and the cost of an Uber or ReachNow car was too high. However, I received an e-mail offer from Uber this morning: for $15, get 4 weeks of $0 UberPool rides on a pre-selected route in Seattle, and 20% off rides elsewhere. I'll almost definitely come out ahead just with the 20% off, so I picked work and a fast food place in SoDo as my designated route endpoints.

The fine print says the endpoints have to be "near" where I designated, but there's a several-block area to choose from. Expect a Taco Bell report within the next month :-)

Back to the sandwich: I ordered at the register, and sat at the counter. It felt like a slightly-remodeled Denny's, but Google Street View shows that as far back as six years ago, it was a BBQ diner. Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream" was playing (*sniff*), as well as the local news on the TVs, muted.

"Number 63!" That was quick. I unwrapped the sloppy wet sandwich, and picked a few quickly-dissolving pieces of paper out of it. The first bite plopped onto the plate.

Eater.com's reviews, which I didn't read before writing this, describe it as either "the drippy mess" or "greasy fucking slippery teflon sandwiches that squirt out the back of the bread when you bite into them ... the biggest overrated scam in all of sandwichdom." That's a bit harsh, but yeah, it's messy.

The jalapenos were mild, and unlike the Delicatus sandwich of yesterday, they use lettuce and aioli to prevent the bread from completely turning into mush. The pork was a flavorful grease bomb. I'd eat it again, but as I said above, went through almost a dozen napkins to cleanly finish the meal. If I go again, I should invest in a napkin company first. Know any local pulp manufacturers?

Paseo SoDo
1760 1st Ave S
Caribbean Roast sandwich, diet Coke, $12.94

October 6: Dough Zone

A little more than a year ago, one of the biggest reasons I looked forward to the company move to Pioneer Square was the proximity of the International District. Specifically, naïve me expected to have Din Tai Fung level food just a few blocks away.

Then I had my first meal at Ping's Dumpling House, and was disappointed.

Fortunately, I discovered other great places in the I.D., like Tofully, Thai Curry Simple, and Samurai Noodle. Another Din Tai Fung location opened in Pacific Place in early March, so I've eaten there a few times, too.

Then in November, Eater Seattle ran this story, announcing that Dough Zone would was several months away from opening its fifth location. Their report included the preposterous line, "many consider [it] superior to international competitor Din Tai Fung." Pshaw.

Page 1 (page 2 not shown)

I stopped by last week. They hadn't opened yet, but were polishing the floors and fixtures. It opened Monday.

The dining room is airy, with artsy dangling red and grey (felt?) disks suspended from the ceiling, twisting in the breeze. As a solo diner, I was seated immediately at "the bar", a long table in the middle of the room. The restaurant appeared full, but I also didn't see anyone waiting.

Despite the warning on the door, "Dough Zone soft opening, limited items available", service was prompt. I ordered a basket of the pork xiao long bao and oolong tea. It took just a few moments for the Thermos carafe of tea to arrive, and about 12 minutes for the dumplings.

Superior to Din Tai Fung? Not quite, but pretty dang close. I withdraw my pshaw.

The dumplings felt a little thinner, a little emptier, and with just a little less substance. Still, they were delicious and mouth-scalding, and in a blind taste test, I probably couldn't tell the difference.

To my left, a group discussing harassment and whether "no" means no unless it's said three times (spoiler: once is plenty) had some tasty looking green onion pancakes and what I think was sweet and sour cucumber. To my right, a guy planning a trip to China via L.A. (yes, avoid LAX as best you can) and his friend were enjoying pot stickers, broccoli with oyster sauce, and spicy beef shank. It all looked great.

The ability to get a seat instantly for DTF-quality dumplings is huge. The only downside was that it's really designed for groups to share, not a solo diner. $4.50 for a thermos of tea is expensive for one person, but reasonable for two or three. I'd have liked to have more than the long bao, but at $11.50 for a basket of ten, it didn't make sense to get two other similarly-priced entrees. And the long bao was so good, I couldn't bring myself to eat there again without getting it.

You should eat there with me next time.

Dough Zone
504 5th Ave S
Pork xiao long bao, oolong tea, $20.46